Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF/2017/000 TA 2017 - Technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission)
Date: 2017-02-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission
Subjects: European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, collective dismissal, commitment of expenditure, financial aid, general budget (EU), payment appropriation, technical cooperation

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 28.2.2017  COM(2017) 101 final   Proposal for a DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF/2017/000 TA 2017 - Technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission)  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

The  rules  applicable  to  financial  contributions  from  the  European  Globalisation  Adjustment 
Fund (EGF) are laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1309/2013 of the European Parliament and 
of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-
2020) and repealing Regulation (EC) 1927/20061 (the ‘EGF Regulation’). 

SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION AND ANALYSIS 

Key data: 

EGF Reference no. 
European Commission 
Administrative expenditure: budget in EUR 
% administrative expenditure (ceiling: 0,5 %) 

EGF/2017/000 
Technical assistance 
310 000 
0,18 % 

In accordance with Article 11(1) of the EGF Regulation, a maximum of 0,5 % of the annual 
maximum amount of the EGF may be made available each year for technical assistance at the 
initiative of the Commission. 

Technical assistance to be funded and breakdown of its estimated costs 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

The contribution will be used for expenditure mentioned in Article 11(1) and (4) as 
well as Article 12(2), (3) and (4) of the EGF Regulation, as detailed hereunder. 

Monitoring  and  data  gathering:  The  Commission  will  collect  data  on  applications 
received,  paid  and  wound  up,  and  measures  proposed  and  implemented.  This  data 
will  be  made  available  on  the  web  site  and  compiled  in  appropriate  form  for  the 
Biennial Reports of 2017 and 2019. Building on the work of recent years, costs for 
this activity will be EUR 20 000. 
Information: The web site on the EGF2, which the Commission has set up within its 
Employment,  Social  Affairs  and  Inclusion  area,  and  which  it  is  maintaining  as 
required  under  Article 12(2)  of  the  EGF  Regulation,  will  be  regularly  updated  and 
expanded,  with  each  new  element  also  being  translated  into  all  EU  languages. 
General awareness of the EGF will be increased and its visibility promoted. A small 
print  run  of  the  EGF  mid-term  evaluation  will  be  made  available  together  with  an 
online publication. The EGF will be covered in various Commission publications and 
audio-visual activities as provided for in Article 11(4) of the EGF Regulation. Costs 
of all these items are estimated at EUR 20 000 in 2017. 

Creation of a knowledge base / application interface: The Commission is continuing 
its work setting up standardised procedures  for EGF applications  and  management, 
using the functionalities of SFC 2014, into which it is being integrated. This allows 
applications  under  the  EGF  Regulation  to  be  simplified,  their  processing  to  be 
speeded  up  and  reports  to  be  more  easily  extracted  for  varying  needs.  Reporting 
procedures are integrated as well. A back-office module acts as an interface between 
SFC  and  the  Commission’s  accounting  and  financial  information  system  ABAC, 
facilitating EGF financial operations. As most of the programming has been done in 
the  past  years,  only  further  fine-tuning  and  adjustments  to  possible  changes  are 
needed. Due to the lower programming costs and equal maintenance costs, the funds 
needed  are  lower  than  in  the  past  years.  The  cost  of  these  items  is  estimated  at 

1 
2 

OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855. 
http://ec.europa.eu/egf  

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EUR 80 000,  as  the  EGF  contribution  to  the  further  development  and  updating  of 
SFC and its regular maintenance. 

Administrative  and  technical  support:  The  Expert  Group  of  Contact  Persons  of  the 
EGF,  with  one  member  from  each  Member  State,  will  be  holding  two  meetings 
(second half of 2017 / first half of 2018), together estimated at EUR 70 000. 

In  addition,  in  order  to  promote  networking  among  the  Member  States,  the 
Commission will organise two seminars with the participation of EGF implementing 
bodies  and  social  partners.  To  the  extent  possible,  these  will  be  scheduled  to  take 
place around the same dates as the Expert Group meetings and will focus on issues 
arising from the practical implementation of the EGF Regulation at grassroots level. 
The cost of these items is estimated at EUR 120 000. 

5. 

6. 

Items 

Estimated 
number 

Estimated cost 
per item 
(in EUR) 

Total costs 
(in EUR) 

Various 

Various 

Various 

Various 

Various 

Various 

20 000 

20 000 

80 000 

2 

2 

35 000 

70 000 

60 000 

120 000 

310 000 

Monitoring and data gathering 

Information activities 

Creation, updating and maintenance of a 
knowledge base / application interface in 
SFC 

Administrative and technical support: 
Meetings of the Expert Group of Contact 
Persons of the EGF 

Administrative and technical support: 
Networking seminars on the 
implementation of the EGF 

Total estimated costs 

Financing 

7. 

8. 

9. 

3 

The  maximum  annual  budget  available  for  the  EGF  in  2017  is  EUR 150 million 
(2011  prices),  as  laid  down  in  Article 12  of  Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom) 
No 1311/2013  of  2  December  2013  laying  down  the  multiannual  financial 
framework for the years 2014-20203. 

Article 11(1) of the EGF Regulation states that 0,5 % of this amount (i.e. EUR 844 
620  in  2017)  can  be  made  available  for  technical  assistance  at  the  initiative  of  the 
Commission.  Currently,  the  entire  amount  for  2017  remains  available;  nothing  has 
yet been allocated to technical assistance. The proposed amount corresponds to about 
0,18 % of the maximum annual budget available for the EGF in 2017. 

The  proposed  decision  to  mobilise  the  EGF  will  be  taken  jointly  by  the  European 
Parliament  and  the  Council,  as  laid  down  in  point 13  of  the  Interinstitutional 

OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884. 

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Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European Parliament, the Council and 
the Commission on budgetary discipline, on cooperation in budgetary matters and on 
sound financial management4. 

Related acts 

10. 

At the same time as it presents this proposal for a decision to mobilise the EGF, the 
Commission will present to the European Parliament and to the Council a proposal 
for a transfer to the relevant budgetary line for the amount of EUR 310 000. 

Source of payment appropriations 

11. 

Appropriations  from  the  EGF  budget  line  will  be  used  to  cover  the  amount  of 
EUR 310 000 needed for technical assistance. 

4 

OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1. 

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Proposal for a 

DECISION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

on the mobilisation of the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF/2017/000 TA 
2017 - Technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission) 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 

Having  regard  to  Regulation  (EU)  No 1309/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 17 December 2013 on the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (2014-2020) 
and repealing Regulation (EC) 1927/20065, and in particular Article 11(2) thereof, 

Having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 2 December 2013 between the European 
Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  on  budgetary  discipline,  on  cooperation  in 
budgetary matters and on sound financial management6, and in particular point 13 thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

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The  European  Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund  (EGF)  was  established  to  provide 
support for workers made redundant and self-employed persons whose activities have 
ceased  as  a  result  of  major  structural  changes  in  world  trade  patterns  due  to 
globalisation, as a result of a continuation of the global financial and economic crisis 
addressed  in  Regulation  (EC)  No 546/2009  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council7,  or  as  a  result  of  a  new  global  financial  and  economic  crisis,  and  to  assist 
them with their reintegration into the labour market. 

The  EGF  is  not  to  exceed  a  maximum  annual  amount  of  EUR 150 million  (2011 
prices),  as 
in  Article 12  of  Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom) 
No 1311/20138. 

laid  down 

Regulation  (EU)  No 1309/2013  provides  that  a  maximum  of  0,5 %  of  the  annual 
maximum  amount  of  the  EGF  may  be  used  each  year  for  technical  assistance  at  the 
initiative of the Commission. 

The EGF should, therefore, be mobilised in order to provide the sum of EUR 310 000 
for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission. 

OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 855. 
OJ C 373, 20.12.2013, p. 1. 
Regulation  (EC)  No  546/2009  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  18  June  2009 
amending Regulation (EC) No 1927/2006 on establishing the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, 
OJ L 167, 29.6.2009, p. 26. 
Council Regulation (EU, EURATOM) No 1311/2013 of 2 December 2013 laying down the multiannual 
financial framework for the years 2014-2020, OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 884. 

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HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

For  the  general  budget  of  the  European  Union  for  the  financial  year  2017,  the  European 
Globalisation  Adjustment  Fund  shall  be  mobilised  to  provide  the  sum  of  EUR 310 000  in 
commitment and payment appropriations. 

Article 2 

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official 
Journal of the European Union. 

Done at Brussels, 

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

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